Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Blue Wave’, one of the featured plants in the Arboretum’s new summer garden.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Seattle Garden Club. To celebrate, the Arboretum is creating a new summer-themed garden on the north side of Azalea Way pond, using a grant from the Garden Club and matching funds from the Arboretum Foundation. Jason Morse of the firm AHBL and Iain Robertson of the University of Washington collaborated on the design.
The centerpiece will be a long, curving, stone bench offering views across the pond to the historic gazebo perched on the hill above. Summer-blooming shrubs—including big drifts of hydrangea—will be the horticultural stars of the show. A commemorative plaque will honor the contributions made by the Seattle Garden Club to the Arboretum—including the funds for the original Olmsted design. Construction of the garden began in June and is scheduled to be completed this September.
Garden design: In the latest issue of the Arboretum Bulletin, Jason Morse writes about the design plan for the garden—and the collaborative process that went in to creating the design.
